Gon's first Halloween
by ephelid
Summary: Gon welcomes his friends in his native island for the first Halloween he ever properly celebrated. Killua is too nervous, Alluka very dedicated, Kurapika takes things to heart, Leorio makes sure that everything goes out of proportion, and Gon tries his best in this mess. Pumpkins, ghost story, pumpkins, disguises, pumpkins, candies, pumpkins, everything's here ! Especially pumpkins
1. the reunion

Here is my contribution to the HxH fall exchange, and a gift for G-odspeed. I hope you'll like it !

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Killua went to the ship bow and closed his eyes as he let the salty sea spray play with his hair. He'd been sailing for three days. As his destination got closer, he was feeling both excited and nervous.

Alluka came by him, and shouted : "Look ! It really looks like a whale !"

Killua didn't need to open his eyes to nod in agreement. He remembered well the first time he had visited Gon's place. He had seen the typical silhouette of Whale Island thickening the horizon.

Alluka ran to Kurapika and started to chat excitedly. Kurapika listened to her patiently, but he was obviously not in the mood for a talk. His hair was messy, his clothes creased, his eyes puffy and he hardly held back a yawn. He had slept almost the whole boat ride. He said he had intense fatigue due to an "unusual mission", even if he refused to say what this mission was.

"Kurapika, go wash your face with some water, you look like a zombie" said Leorio behind Killua. He was already prepared, his luggage packed up on his shoulder and ready to disembark.

"Well, it's the right time of the year for that" responded Kurapika with a tired smile. "I won't need any disguise tonight."

"Play the wit !" says Leorio "We're about to land, gather your stuff together already !"

"Well we don't land for half an hour" said Killua looking at his watch. It was just like he had stabbed Leorio.

"Half an ho… ? Rah, it's too long, I can't wait !" He threw his luggage away, jumped on the guardrail. Alluka grabbed his sleeve to stop him from swimming to the island. Leorio gave up, and instead decided to wave his arms and shouted : "Woohoo Gon ! We're coming !"

Killua covered his face in his hands : "We're too far, stop embarrassing yourself."

"Stop underestimating Gon" replied Leorio. "You're as aware as any of us what he's capable of."

Killua smile but did not answer. He was actually pretty touched by the man's naivety.

He couldn't guess Leorio was right. Far from them, perched on the highest tree of the highest peak of the island stood a teen. A pair of binocular screwed on his eyes, Gon smiled so wide that it could have cut his head in two. He jumped on his feet, waved : "Woohoo ! Leorio ! I can see you !" and ran as fast as he could to the port.

He arrived way too soon, and as the ship was approaching the land, Killua could see him walking around with impatience and excitement on the wooden wharf, like a puppy ready for the most exciting walk of his life . Killua's heart ran faster. He hadn't seen his friend for so long. They had lived such different lives since they separated at the foot of the World Tree. Gon had to learn to live without nen again. While Killua lived so many adventures, a fun and insouciant life with his sister. In a word, the life Gon had dreamt of having with his own father, or Kite. Instead, after a couple of weeks traveling with his new friends, he had to go back in his native Island. Without nen, he couldn't follow his friends in all of their adventures. He was slowing them down and put himself needlessly in danger. He was stuck with a family he loved, but couldn't share the same life, just like the life Killua had ran away from. Killua wondered how his friend was feeling right now.

The ship drew alongside the pier. The gangway resonated under the heavy steps of Leorio. He ran and took the child in his arms, spinning him around. Kurapika, as happy but more collected, embraced him. And what about me ? wondered Killua. Shaking hands is too formal, nodding is too cold, giving a kiss is… just... no, and…

But Gon didn't let him torture himself further and jumped into his arms. "Killua ! I missed you !" he shouted, and Killua would have tinnitus during the next hour. He hardly had the time to recover from this emotional storm when Gon turned to Alluka and roared : "Alluka ! You grew up so much !" like an adult. Actually Alluka grew only three centimeters. Gon easily grew ten, but Alluka looked very flattered.

Gon couldn't stand still : "Ok so I'll introduce you to Mito. Killua, you already know. We're gonna put your stuff at home. Then we'll visit the island and eat at my grandma's and then bathe in the river it's not cold you'll see and after…"

"Wait a minute young lad. My cargo isn't unload yet." Leorio cut him short, readjusting his glasses with a teacher-like move. A huge wooden crate was pushed on the quay, with a large tag : "Oreo Papadiknight". Kurapika stared at it in defiance. It didn't look at all right to him.

"Your cargo ?" he said. "You plan to do business here ? I thought you'd have earned enough with your hunter licence."

"Not business" said Leorio, looking even more proud. "Something way more fun !" He put his hands up in enthusiasm as a second bigger crate was parked near the first, with the tag "Lol Ohio Callmetonight."

"What do you mean when you say "fun"?" asked Killua, looking at a third crate, even bigger than the first ones, tagged "Reyo HotdamnIdon'tgetathingaboutthisnameIgoonstrike".

It seemed to be exactly the answer Leorio hoped for. He placed his hands on his hips and started a very unnatural laughter: "Haha ! I knew you wouldn't think about it ! The weather and the soil on Whale Island are inauspicious for pumpkin farming. It's very hard to find any. So I've brought some !" he concluded, while a fourth, bigger, larger, heavier crate is hardly handed next to him, with the tag in another writing: "Loud guy with weird glasses."

Kurapika enunciated very slowly : "You mean that all those boxes…"

Killua pointed at them "are full of…"

"...pumpkins ?" ended Alluka.

"Yep !" confirmed Leorio, literally radiating with pride. "I don't know if pumpkins can last long travels well, so in doubt, I've brought four hundreds."

"Four hund…!" Killua choked.

While the boy jumped upon Leorio to punch him, Gon turned to Kurapika : "Pumpkins ? But… what for ? I have plenty of vegetables at home."

"For Halloween of course" said Alluka. "It's tonight."

Gon looked at her with empty eyes and a polite smile. "Halloween ? What is it ?'

Whale Island had its own rich culture, and it's own death festival, in summer. During previous Halloweens not at his home, Gon had been on Greed Island, where players easily lost all sense of time. And he was too busy being tortu… trained by Bisky to think about anything else.

So Kurapika launched into a historical and mythological explanation of Halloween. He was frequently interrupted by Alluka who focused on disguises and candies. Gon couldn't figure out the relation between all this information. His gaze went from one to the other, more and more confused. When he felt like his head was going to explode, he cut them short : "Okay, okay, I didn't get everything, but it looks fun and as long as we do it together, I'll be happy with it."

Kurapika forced Leorio to carry all the crates by himself, to teach him a good lesson. He reached Gon's house far after all the others. Gon had already showed everything to everyone twice, and was about to do so again. He smiled largely when he saw Leorio coming up.

"Ha here you are ! I'm hungry ! When do we eat the pumpkins ?"

"We're not going to eat them !" laughed Kurapika. "We have to carve them first."

Before the questioning gaze of Gon, Kurapika decided to show an example. He came near to Leorio in the garden, bent over and out of breath, and patted him on the back, making him stumble. "Now that you're warmed up, you can unwrap your cargo and bring us the pumpkins ?"

Leorio opened the crates, swearing and calling Kurapika names. Kurapika gathered everyone in the kitchen and opened the window. He told Gon to take the longest knifes. Alluka was very excited and put an apron on. "You'll see Gon, it's fun, a little hard, but a strong boy like you shouldn't have any problem."

"Any problem doing what ?"

"This" answered Kurapika. He waved at Leorio in the garden who throw him a pumpkin by the window. He raised the pumpkin in his left hand, and his eyes set ablaze with a scarlet glow. He raised his right hand, and his chains clinked. The children could felt a change in the atmosphere. A stiff coldness. Alluka started to show some concern.

"Kurapika… what are you…"

She didn't have the time to end her sentence. The chains drilled the peel, ran through the pumpkin, exploded the flesh, rummaged inside, with grating noise and groans. Kurapika's moves were strong and precise. The chains danced around him, spreading orange flesh everywhere, clinking like funeral bells. The pumpkin vibrated, about to break up. And everything stopped as suddenly as it started.

"Here it is" said Kurapika with a smile, his eyes taking their normal color again, as if nothing happened. "A Halloween Pumpkin" He showed it to the children. Alluka screamed, Killua swore, and Gon yelled : "But what is this terrifying thing ? Why does it have a cross in its forehead ? Is it a Halloween thing ?"

"It is" said Kurapika with a patient smile. "Carving pumpkin is traditionally used to express all the repressed anger and hatred you silently carry in your heart all year long."

A flying pumpkin landed in the table and the distant voice of Leorio came from the garden : "It doesn't mean that at all !"

While Leorio and Kurapika started an argument from each side of the window like an old couple, Alluka grasped with difficulty the pumpkin almost heavier than her. "My turn !"

"I gonna help you" said Killua. "Take care not to cut yourself."

"I'm no longer a baby" said Alluka with a baby pout.

They felt in their back the atmosphere getting colder again, and the clinking of chains. They exchanged a look and all crouched down. Right in time : masses of pumpkin flesh flew through the kitchen over their heads. Killua whistled : "Is he going to do this with the four hundreds pumpkins ?"

"Looks like" whispered Gon..

They seeked refuge under the table. Killua wedged the pumpkin between his crossed legs and Alluka enthusiastically start to dig in it. Gon couldn't see it, but he was sure Killua was helping her by surrounding her knife with his aura, because the frail little girl carved the firm flesh like it was mashed potatoes and finished her work quickly. She stood up from under the table, showing up her work with a proud smile.

"Look at what I've done !"

"Adorable." said Kurapika.

"As sweet as you." said Killua.

"So cute !" said Gon putting his hands up.

"What ? What is it ?" said Leorio from the garden. "I can't see !"

Alluka's smile had slowly faded at every answer. "It was supposed to be frightening…" she muttered, highly disappointed.

"Don't worry, you'll try again, you're very talented !" Gon cheer her up. "And what do you think of mine ? Scary, isn't it ?"

A stupefied silence settled in the kitchen, only interrupted with Leorio's yellings who still couldn't see anything.

"Yeah, it's scary, but…" started Killua carefully.

"But I don't get where I'm supposed to put the candle in." wondered Gon.

"It's because it's a carrot, Gon" said Kurapika.

"So what ?" said the boy. "Aren't we supposed to carve orange vegetables ? I put so much effort in this. Carrot are not very cooperative."

Alluka broke into laughter and waved at the window, so Leorio could give an actual pumpkin to Gon. But Leorio was no longer in the garden. She turned to his friends. "Is he upset because we didn't show him our works ?"

"I think he went to seek something" said Kurapika mysteriously. "He won't be long."

"You know something we don't" accused Killua. "What are you guys planning ?"

"Us ? Nothing at all." pretended Kurapika. "Gon, why don't you take a couple of pumpkins and bring them to us instead ?"

"He's trying to change the subject" muttered Killua, while Gon jumped through the window.

He brought back eight pumpkins at the same time. Alluka choosed a little one. All the kids jumped under the table when they heard the clinkings that were so fast and angry they swore it sounded like a chainsaw. Alluka quickly finished and showed her second work.

"Ho, lovely." said Kurapika.

"It looks like a little rabbit !" said Killua.

"So cute !" said Gon putting his hands up.

"What what what ? I can't see I can't see !" Leorio were back in the garden, his mysterious job done, pretending nothing happened.

Alluka frowned but stay determined. She carved four more pumpkins. Each work was sweeter than the previous one. Everytime Gon cheered with his hands up. The fourth time he forgot he was still under the table with his knife in his fist. The blade passed through the table wood and no one was able to retrieve it. Nonetheless, Gon was making noticeable progress.

"Look !" he said showing up his latest work. "This time, there's enough room for a candle !"

"Good job Gon !" congratulated Killua. "Next time, you'll carve an actual pumpkin and not a sweet pepper !"

"It's not like we're at risk of not having enough pumpkins." said Kurapika.

"I've heard you !" said leorio from the garden. "And look ! I was right : Look at this one ! It's wounded ! Totally useless !"

"Ho no !" said Kurapika ironically. "There are only 399 pumpkins left ! What will become of us ?"

Leorio roared and ran through the window, the incriminate pumpkin under his arm. He reached Kurapika so fast he didn't had the time to avoid him. Leorio lifted the pumpkin with both hands and smashed it on Kurapika's head. The wounded part exploded, and Kurapika's head got stuck in the vegetable. Totally unimpressed, Kurapika took a knife and carved two holes for his eyes.

"You can poke fun at me" said Leorio, "but you'll be happy to have so many pumpkins when we…" he stopped suddenly.

"When you what ?" asked Killua, trying to look suspicious but still struggling with refrained laughter.

"Nothing" answered Leorio and Kurapika in the same time. Actually, Leorio said "nothing". Kurapika said "gfrrgmlr" because there wasn't enough room for his mouth, but the intention was here.

Meanwhile, Nanika had asked for a try. She choose the roundest pumpkin. The result had been immediately recognized : perfectly round eyes, and rounded lips edges. Nanika had carved her own face.

"It's pretty logical" commented Killua. "Nanika has to grant every wish literally, without any interpretation. She has no imagination."

But everyone agreed it was the cutest pumpkin of all. Alluka came back in her body, and looked at the pile of terrifying Kurapika's pumpkins with a sigh of envy.

"I'm not made for Halloween. I should just give up."

"Frdfmlfrrr…?" said Kurapika. He took a knife again and finally carved a mouth hole. "What are you saying ? You're obviously the Halloween Princess this year."

"The Halloween Princess ? What is it ?" she asked.

"You never heard of this ? It's a true story. Happened a long time ago. I can tell you."

"Yes please" said the kids at the same time.

Kurapika went to the window and signed Leorio to come closer. He whispered in his ear, his huge pumpkin head bouncing against his temple. Leorio nodded in agreement. Then Kurapika closed the curtain, plunging the kitchen into darkness. He sat with crossed legs on the table, avoiding carefully the blade pointing out of the wood. While the children moved chairs next to each others and sat. Kurapika lighted a little flashlight and slipped it in a gap between the pumpkin peel and his neck. The mouth and eyes hole glowed with an eerie light, the shadows around his mouth deepening and fading as he was talking.

"Once upon a time..."


	2. ghost story time !

"Once upon a time, in a remote kingdom, lived a very cute, sweet and adorable little girl, named Alluka."

"That's me!" said Alluka, wriggling on her chair in delight.

"No, it's not you" said Kurapika. "It's another Alluka."

"So harsh ! " thought the boys.

"This little girl" Kurapika continued " not only was very cute, but also very talented. She crafted plenty of little charming objects. She decorated homes with a perfect taste. Her floral arrangements were renowned and was always dressed in the most flattering clothes. In a word, she was very cute, and made everything cute."

"Sorry, but this is still me" muttered Alluka with a pout.

"Hush !" whispered Gon, already totally plunged into the story. "Other Allukas have plenty of rights to be as cute as you, you know !" His voice tone was genuinely reproaching but Alluka immediately stopped to sulk.

"Her biggest dream" continued Kurapika as if nothing happened, "was to make the entire world as cute as her. Unfortunately, some things seemed to be very reluctant to cuteness. Toads with ribbons were just ridiculous; grey stones were insipid; some insects were unfashionable, and nothing could make mosquitos buzzing sound mellifluous. Moreover, poor districts in her city were seedy and badly kept, and the poor people didn't look better, as if they never had a proper meal or proper sleep. And their clothes ! So used and patched ! They were so neglected, it was an eye-sore."

"OK, I've decided it's no longer me anyway" said Alluka and Gon shoved the curved sweet pepper into her mouth to keep her quiet. Alluka started to chew mindlessly.

"She decided to make an offering to the Fairy Queen who lived by the magic stream inside a deep forest. She crafted such a delicious little dress that the Fairy Queen was very impressed. "What can I give you to thank you ?" and Alluka said : "I want everything I touch to be cute." "Your wish is answered" said the Fairy Queen. And suddenly, the mundane grey stone Alluka was sat on turned to a translucent pink quartz.

"She felt delighted. She ran back home through the forest. Under her steps, centipedes became butterflies, brambles bloomed as roses, thistle became lively iris, and spiders golden beetles.

"Nothing could stop her. She reached her city, her cute laughter echoing against the houses walls, and ran to the poor districts. She touched the dilapidated walls, the dirty bitten earth streets, the homeless guys in their holed curtains, she touched everyone, every person who didn't look cute enough, they touched them and their clothes were transformed, their cheeks became round with a healthy pink blush, their hair silky and they smiled even if they didn't want to.

"But it wasn't enough. The little girl started to get tired. She couldn't run over the entire country. So she climbed the highest peak, and touched the horizon. Everything became radiant, the clouds were chased away, sweet sunshine and an eternal rainbow settled in the sky and never moved.

"It was in March. The clouds never came back. It didn't rain all springtime long. Neither in summer. On harvest time, nothing had grew on the desolated and dry lands. There were nothing but drought, famine, misery, and cuteness."

"What kind of story is that ?" protested Killua.

" It's a Halloween story, what did you expect ?" answered Kurapika.

" So cold ! " thought the boys simultaneously.

Kurapika continued. "October began and people started to die of starvation." "It's getting worst ! " thought the boys. Nobody knew what Alluka was thinking, but her eyes and mouth were so round that in the dark, she could have been mistaken for Nanika. She had totally forgotten her half chewed sweet pepper on her hand.

"The desperate population decided to send a delegation to the King. The kingdom were huge enough to keep its capital beyond the horizon, and it hadn't been concerned by the cuteness curse. They had profusion of water and supplies they could share. But the King, suspicious as every person of power, didn't believe them, : "You say that you, standing before me with your round pink cheeks, your silky hair and beautiful clothes, are starving ? How dare you trying to make a fool of me !" and he sent soldiers to violently punish the region they were representing, for lese-majesty attempt.

"All the region plunged into blood and despair. A very aesthetic and romantic despair. Maybe, a long time ago, Alluka could have appreciated this new style. Maybe, if she was still happy, she could have shown this dark beauty to her loved ones. But she had no one left she could share anything with. The survivors of both famine and the one-sided civil war emigrate to ugly but more hospitable lands. Even her own family, her own mother, left her behind, on her request. Alluka couldn't resign herself to quit the beautiful land she created and ruined. She had leant her lesson. She regretted so much. But no one remained whom she could apologize to.

"The last day of October, she was the last living form walking down the city's streets she ruined because she had never learnt to love it. She had nothing left to eat. She had accepted her fate and was waiting for death."

"Serves her right." mumbled Gon. Alluka hit him on his head.

"No, she understands and regrets it now ! She deserves to be saved ! You're going to save her, aren't you Kurapika ?" she asked in anguished tones. Kurapika smirked and pursued his story:

"At sunset, however, she saw a light at a window. Then another one. Whispers and conversations scraps murmured in the empty streets. Muffled laughter echoed in abandoned houses. Shady silhouettes quivered at the corner of her eyes. She started to feel frightened. Until she recognized, by the end of the street, her mother's profile.

"She ran to her with open arms, she was so happy, she hadn't seen her for so long. She wanted to hug her so bad. She put her arms around through her. She met no resistance. Her mother was nothing but steam.

"She was already so weak when she left, she died while on the exile road.

"Houses, streets, parks and lanes, were full of ghosts. They were coming out from every corner, every shadow. They started to gather around her, whispering her name. " Allukaaaa… ""

The real Alluka gasped and hide her lower face in her collar.

"Allukaaaa" they said "You had brought death because you couldn't appreciate the multiple facets of life. You changed us because you didn't want to learn to love us as we were. You choose to hide our pain, our poverty, our struggle, instead of helping us. Now we are cursed, and can't even properly haunt the place we used to love."

"Alluka squinted her eyes. The ghost were oddly trembling, like they were fighting against a force she couldn't see.

"Death allows no lie. As ghost we don our true appearance. Your power is so strong, and we are so ugly, that it tries to chase us away. Help us ! For the first time of your life, help us ! Make something ugly. Bring ugliness back in our city again, recognize beauty for its rarity, let us come back, and you'll be forgiven. If not, we'll devour you, to control your power. Your choice."

"With shaking hands, Alluka gathered fabrics, glue, ribbons, pieces of wood, dead leaves, everything that caught her eyes, and composed… a delicious table center piece. She took her brushes and pencils, mixed the paint any old how, slammed the canvas with eyes closed, and painted a touching autumnal landscape. The ghosts were losing patience : "You're mocking us ! You have only one try left ! If you fail again, we'll devour you !"

"Alluka started to panick and stuttered : "Co...Come with me ! I know who could fix everything !" and they led them into the deep forest, walking to the magic stream.

"It was the strangest procession the forest had ever seen. A terrified and yet so pretty little girl, followed by hundreds of translucent ghosts, twisting, howling, flying around her. On their passage, they went through trees, cute nocturnal animals, flower bushes and iridescent bees, and like a lens, death touch revealed the true nature of the forest : cruel and pointy fangs, matted fur, venomous insects, dirt and scratched trees, thorns and poisonous berries. As soon as they were gone, the forest put up its misleading pretty mask again.

"Alluka reached the stream. At last she reached the place the stream used to be : there was nothing left but mud. The sun was sinking and she hardly could see. She put the delicious craft and the touching painting by the muddy puddle, and called the Fairy Queen : "Please, Fairy Queen, help me, take your blessing back, I'll give it to you, along with these presents." The Fairy Queen was sleeping and lengthy yawned. "Haaaaaa… Hum, well, thanks for the gifts, but sorry it's not gonna happen" and went back to sleep.

"The ghost procession howled in indignation, and tried to catch the fairy. It was pointless; they couldn't catch anything, just like a living human couldn't catch air. Their hands went through the tiny body, and thanks to the touch of death, they could see, for a second, the true form of the magical creature.

"You're not a fairy at all !" yelled Alluka. The false fairy wasn't embarrassed in the least : "Yep, I'm a demon. I made the sun my accomplice to create on earth a welcoming land for my peers, a dry land of despair. You were very helpful too.." The false fairy smirked a disgusting smile. Alluka wanted to smash it away but refrained.

"You accepted my gifts. Do you like them ?" "Ho yeah, a lot ! Us demons can't do things like that, y'know. They are very popular in hell, even if they contrast weirdly with the environment, in my opinion." "Well, if you don't help me, I will die, and I will never be able to give us cute things again." The demon gasped, rubbed its chin in reflexion, and admitted : "Well, I'd like to help you, but I'm committed to the sun now… If he knew…" "It's night, the sun went down. Everything will be done in the morning. He will never know. " "The sun is deaf but sees everything, and the moon is blind but hears everything, and she will tell him in the morning" "... so if she can hear but can't see, she will tell him that an Alluka did cute things all night long, right ? She couldn't distinguish an Alluka from another. Give the curse to another Alluka. Just for tonight. Just for Halloween night. " The demon seemed to think about it, and finally concluded : "Allright ! But only for Halloweens. I don't want to get in trouble with my superiors." It did a move that was probably magic, because a rustle ran through the forest even if there was no breeze, and when Alluka turned back, the forest had came back to its natural state.

"Nothing had looked so beautiful to her.

"Alluka and the ghosts came back to the city, singing and hissing hoarse songs, dancing like bodies in flames, their grinning face twisted in scary smiles. They were so happy when they reached the city that they partied all night long. Alluka crafted horrible things she hid in the basements and closed houses, so the sun would never see them the ghosts could haunt these places all year long.

"This is why, on Halloween, you have to go disguised only after the sun set, and be back home before he rise again.

"And this is why, every year, on Halloween night, somewhere on earth, a little girl bearing the name of Alluka can't help herself but do adorable things. And in the same time, but somewhere else, another Alluka and her ghosts friends thank her, for she allows them to party freely in the street all night long, and amongst themselves, they call her the Halloween Princess."

Kurapika shut down his flashlight, plunging the kitchen into darkness again, get off the table and open the curtains. The children blinked at the sudden light, even if the sun was setting. Gon was looking in the corner with a curious gaze, as if he were expecting to see the ghosts from the story; Alluka gently smiled for herself, muttering "I'm a princess". Killua stood up and joined Kurapika. He lowered his voice and murmured in his ear :

"Well, Alluka looks happy and it's all that matters. But I'd prefered you don't tell her terrible stories with a lot of dead people around her. Or around someone named like her."

"I understand your concern Killua, but… she's a Zoldyck, isn't she ?"

"That's the point !"

"And it's educational."

"What was educational in there ?"

"Sometimes all your loved ones dies and you're the only one who survives. That kind of thing happens more than you dare." It was hard to interpret a pumpkin facial expression, but he looked dead serious.

Killua opened his mouth, found no answer so he just punched him in the pumpkin. He'd rather changed the subject. Looking by the window, he exclaimed : "Leorio is gone again ! He missed the story ! He will miss all Halloween !"

"Don't worry about him" said Kurapika with his mysterious smile again. "I'm sure he's enjoying Halloween in his own way."


	3. what leorio was planing all along

Leorio was swaying, pushing an unsteady wheelbarrow full of an unstable pile of pumpkins carved by Kurapika, each more frightening than the last. At every turn pumpkins were rolling down the pyramid. Leorio had to catch them at the last second, and he looked like a drunken juggler who thought he was a funambulist. He had borrowed the wheelbarrow to a neighbor, but he wished he hadn't. It was obviously an out of order one that the neighbor no longer used himself for a while and had tried to get rid of it.

He knocked at the nearest house. A suspicious local folk half opened the door. Leorio, out of breath and irritated because of the freedom-loving pumpkins, didn't look engaging, especially when he yelled aggressively : "Treats 'r tricks !"

"Wha.. what ? What are you …?"

"I give you treats or you play tricks on me !" explained Leorio, shoving a couple of pumpkins into the local garden.

"Ho ! It's this thing from the continent, right ? But… isn't it supposed to be the other way around ? And what are you doing with my garden ?"

"Here for you !" interrupted Leorio, giving him a handful of candies. "But don't eat it ! Don't eat it until morning ! Trust me I'm a doctor."

"What's the…?"

"Happy Halloween !" shouted Leorio while he was walking away, pushing his reluctant wheelbarrow, leaving the neighbor with his sweets, pumpkins, and confusion.

Leorio decided to push on to the port, because it was a sloppy way and it would be easier for him, but also because it was more densely populated. Population density was very important. Leorio was very serious about Halloween. It was his favorite holiday.

When he was a child, he always dressed up as a ghost. A ghost wearing an old sheet, full of holes, and patched here and there with squares of checked fabric. His feet could be seen under the frayed edges, and as the years passed on, his ankles too. But for nothing in this world he would have chosen another disguise.

He and his friends were in charge of the street decorations. They drew grinning pumpkins on old cardboard, oranges, blue, brown, red, depending on the colored pencils they had this year. Then Leorio ran all around the district to glue them up. His friend couldn't accompany him, because of his heart condition, but was so happy when he slowly walked by the streets and discovered the small posters. For Leorio, Halloween started for real at this moment.

This poster campaign was very important, because there is nothing worst than a Halloween when nobody knows it's Halloween. Leorio was used to poverty. People who had nothing to give, he could understand. But people who had forgotten ? Inconceivable.

Then the October 31st night arrived. Leorio and his friends always started their prospections in their own districts. People had few candies to give; most of the time they collected sugar cubes, sometimes homemade caramels who were always too hard and hurt their knocked at doors they knew by heart, calling "sir" and "ma'am" to people they knew by name. The adults always feigned not to recognized them and to be frightened to death.

When he was very young, he honestly thought his disguise was so good, and his ability to distort his voice, so convincing. The day after, the neighbor would always came to him, whispering with falsely scared voice : "Did you see that ghost yesterday ? He was terrifying ! I had goosebumps !" and Leorio pretended he had no idea what they were talking about, a huge smile of his lips in spite of himself, and he felt so proud. Then he couldn't refrain himself from running to tell his mother, and his mother shouted : "It was you ! Gosh, I had no idea ! You get me every year !" and Leorio rolled on the floor with laughters and gave her the candies he had collected. When he grew up, he understood they were playing, just like them, like children, despite their problems, despite the empty plates, the unpaid bills, the illness and fatigue from their exhausting works that paid so poorly, they were playing like it was the most important thing in the world, and he liked Halloween, his mom, and all his neighbors all the more for it.

The ghost disguise was cheap, and it was the main reason he always chose to wear it, but there was another one. It was because of the rich districts. Ghosts aren't supposed to be fancy; they are allowed to walk bare feet, to wear patches; and nobody knew what clothes he was wearing under the sheets. He could never be a rich little boy, but on Halloween, he was a little ghost like anyone else. Rich ladies didn't walk by the other side of the street when they met him, grabbing their purse closer; policemen didn't stop him, asking with severe voices what he was doing here. He felt welcomed everywhere. He thought that when you were dead you could understand what every kind of life was. He could taste the rich life, and above everything, their candies. Their candies ! Candies he had never seen before, more colorful, tasty, acids, sweet than the last. He tasted flavours he could have never imagined. Every year he could taste new ones, and he loved every single one of them so much he couldn't pick a favorite. The first time he munched into milk chocolate, he thought he was going to die for good.

The rich city was quite far from his own, and he had to pass through the middle-class district, who were very religious and not very fond of Halloween. He tried to walk as close as possible to the walls, discreetly, silently, but people were glancing suspiciously at his disguise. If he wasn't wearing it and showed his poor condition, however, the glance would have been worst, anyway. No pumpkins in the gardens, no candles at the windows, and he knew it for sure, no candies for them. He and his friend used to call this place "the barren spell". It was the only sad moment of this blessed night.

No way was Gon going to have a night-long barren spell for his very first Halloween. Leorio wouldn't allow it. On the boat sailing to Whale Island, he explained his idea to Kurapika : the Whalian didn't know Halloween very well, so he would play a reversed trick 'r treats, so everyone would be prepared when the kids would show up. He was an adult now, and it was his Adult Responsibility to teach young ones what was fun in life. Kurapika had been enthusiastic, but started to explain him he had actually plenty other Adult Responsibilities, so Leorio had ran away before he had the time to tell him he brought along four hundreds pumpkins, and it had been probably a good thing, because Kurapika would probably had been less enthusiastic, perhaps reluctant, if not furious.

Leorio knocked to another door. He had lost track of the count.

"Treats r tricks !"

And so on, until his wheel barrow became easy to push, until the pumpkin pyramid became a house, the house became a pile, the pile became nothing at all, and Leorio swayed his way back to Gon's home, bringing back sore arms, satisfactions, and the pleasant company of his childhood memories.

Meanwhile, in Gon's bedroom, the boys were looking in awe at Alluka's bag.

"How…? How did she manage to carry all of this in such a little thing ?"

Alluka had brought in her little luggages enough fabrics, costume, mask, fake noses ears eyebrows fingers to disguise an entire city. "Girls have their secrets." she said mysteriously.

Gon dove into the fluffy pile, ramage through all the fabrics and accessories, putting cat's ear on witches hats, pairing a broom with a clown costume… He just couldn't chose.

Finally, with a wolf fur costume, cats ears and sewing Kurapika's skills, he disguised in a pretty convincing fox bear, despite Killua who was claiming it wasn't scary at all. Gon revenged by insisting he disguised as a cat as his sister suggested, and Killua could do nothing but give in. Alluka wanted to go disguise as a witch, but after the story she also wanted to dress up as a princess, so she finally dress-up as a wintchess, a dark princess with a pointy hat and a broom brush at her sceptre, and everyone declared she was perfect. Then Gon turned to Kurapika : "Now your turn !"

Kurapika blinked : "But Gon… I'm already disguised…"

The kids frowned at the surprising Kurapika's dress-up : a blue pinafore upon a kind of off-white pyjama. Stupefying.

"Kurapika, it's your everyday outfit." said Killua carefully. Kurapika looked very tired lately, maybe he hadn't payed attention.

"...Really ?" said Kurapika. "You don't notice anything different ?"

"HO !" shouted Gon. "I know ! You're disguised as a Kiriko disguised in you ! It's brilliant !"

"You're sweet Gon, but you're wrong. You see the symbol on the dress ? It's the mortuary symbol of my clan. Only deads wear it when we bury them. I'm a walking dead. Isn't it supposed to be frightening ?" he asked very seriously. He didn't have a lot of experience with Halloween neither.

"But Pika" started Gon "nobody but you is able to read this frrrgffgnnmmmlr…" This time it was Alluka who had shove a hand full of fabric into Gon's month to keep him quiet. Kurapika didn't need this to be reminded.

Leorio suddenly came in, looking very content of himself.

"Did you bring what I asked, Alluka ?" and the little girl immediately brandished from the messy pile a ghost costume.

"A ghost ?" said Killua. "It's lame. You're a doctor, you could have brought along blood and viscera and…"

"That's cute, coming from a kitten." Leorio cut him off before turning to Kurapika : "What are you disguised in ? A Kiriko disguised in you ?" and Gon spitted out the fabric to yell and Alluka broke into laughter and all started to tease each other while walking down the stairs to the kitchen.

They all on the last step, pushing each other, when the kitchen door opened. Mito came in. She looked around. She froze. She took a deep breath. And she screamed so loud Alluka had to cover her ears.

Gon waved at her : "It's us, Mito-san ! We're disguised ! It's Halloween !"

Mito stopped screaming and stuttered : "My… my… my…"

"Wow, our disguises are very frightening." muttered Kurapika.

"My... my… my KITCHEN !" yelled Mito. "What have you done to my kitchen ! What is…. Is that pumpkin flesh ? Why is there pumpkin flesh everywhere ?! The walls ! There is pumpkin on the walls ! And what is this blade on the table ? Why have you stabbed the table ? It's a good table ! It has never have done anything wrong in its life ! What's wrong with you ?"

The five friends looked around. The kitchen was indeed a freaking disaster. "Oops" was all Kurapika succeeded to say.

Mito stopped to scream suddenly and looked oddly calm. She grabbed a broom. She walked to them. Slowly. The five friends huddled together. they wouldn't admit it, but Mito was scaring them to death at this very moment.

Mito was getting closer. "You are going…" She clenched her fist on the broom tighter. "... to clean your mess…" Am eerie smile crossed her face. "But first…"

She brandish her broom and pounce on them with a war scream. The five fellows broke ranks and scattered : Kurapika and Gon jumped through the window, Killua took her sister by her hand and passed under Mito's arm and reached the door, Leorio walked up the stairs and jumped from a second floor window. They ran as fast as they could through the country.

"Aren't we impolite ? I don't want Mito to think we're running from our responsibilities..." asked Kurapika to Gon as they jumped across a river.

"Don't worry." answered Gon with pride. "She's able to leave the kitchen this way for years until we come back to clean. I know her."

They weren't looking where they were going, so they needed a couple of minutes before they realized Leorio was leading them to the port. He looked filled with the same radiating pride they witnessed when he showed up his pumpkins crates.

But when they reached the little cobbled square, even him had been surprised by what he saw. Twenty or so children were waiting for them. They didn't had the time to prepare a proper disguise; they took the first things they saw, and the result was a colorful fauna of flower design ghosts, walking mermaids, witches in wedding dresses, and monsters none of them could identify, deer antlers, bearskins, swordfish noses, antique shotgun, stuffed tarantulas, everything they could take from their parents and looked scary to them. Gon saw a toaster. Fears are weird sometimes.

The monstrous crowd cheered when it saw them, let them blend with, walked closely spaced to the houses Leorio was pointing them. Every kid gathered enough candies to get cavities. Leorio saw homemade caramels, that looked too hard, and knew everything was perfect now.

When the night settled, the younger kids went back home to sleep. Their parents neatly tuck them up with a goodnight kiss, and went outside, to the little cobbled square, under the star light.

A high fire had been light up. A mother of twelve brought the biggest cooking pot she had. You could feed an army with it. The disguised teenagers were peeling off the pumpkins Kurapika didn't had the time to curve. Men brought logged wood to feed the fire.

Gon was helping the teens when he saw Mito coming on. Her smirk said she wasn't about to forget the kitchen situation, but was ready for an armistice. She was holding spices.

They cooked the biggest and best pumpkin soup they had never tasted.

The friends had settled in a roof, from where they had a perfect sea vue. The bowl in their hands were pleasantly warm in the chilly night, and they were looking at the stars through the steam from their soup and their breathe.

Gon took on his pocket a kind of weird garland he fixed around Alluka's neck. It was a collar made of curved radishes, with different face expressions. He put in his mouth a handfull of leaves and chewed consciously; then put the paste in the radishes that started to glow.

They felt a pulse, and heard music. The cobbled square was dancing around the fire, twisting giant shadows against the houses' walls : hissing monsters, singing mermaids, howling ghosts, and animal witches running all over the place whistling curses for fun, throwing candies in the growling open mouth of bad wolves.

Alluka's feet started to beat the rhythm. Leorio started to hum. Gon looked down at the square with envy. They will join them soon. But first, they took their sweet time to appreciate their own company, sharing their candies, on the best halloween together that could be.


End file.
